The invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cleaning pipelines for beverages and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus of the type disclosed in commonly owned German Auslegeschrift No. 17 82 136, in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 4,607,410 and in commonly owned copending patent application Ser. No. 07/384,208, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,100, filed July 21, 1989 for "Apparatus for cleaning pipelines for beverages and the like".
The commonly owned copending patent application, the commonly owned Auslegeschrift and the commonly owned patent disclose an apparatus wherein a shuttle valve is connectable with a source of pressurized liquid and with the ends of a pipeline of finite length to convey a cleaning or rinsing liquid from an inlet, through the pipeline and into an outlet in such a way that the flow of liquid through the pipeline is automatically reversed at predetermined intervals. This is achieved by employing one or more spherical sponge-like or other cleaning elements which are entrained by the liquid flowing through the pipeline to indirectly shift the shuttle in the valve. Apparatus of the just outlined character are used in breweries, vine making establishments, other establishments which produce alcoholic beverages, dairies, soft drink producing plants, many plants of the chemical industry, pubs, bars and for many other purposes.
It has been found that, under certain circumstances, threaded connections and/or other separable connections in the cleaning apparatus and/or in the pipelines become loose in the course of the cleaning operation. Furthermore, it happens that an already defective or partly defective pipe or conduit will break or burst in the course of or as a result of the cleaning operation. The likelihood of loosening separable connections and/or of breaking pipes or conduits is more pronounced when the operation involves the cleaning of large pipelines wherein the cleaning or rinsing liquid (such as water, a caustic solution, an acid or a disinfectant) must be conveyed at an elevated pressure.